DIGITAL STARTUP SOCIETY BLOG — Adding Resilience to Your Business

You’ve likely heard the analytic about a business owner really being a firefighter because they’re busy “putting out fires” all day long. The problem is a firefighter is reactive and only around when there is an actual fire and are mostly not focused on fire prevention in the first place. As a business owner, you should seek to prevent fires, which means you must be proactive instead of reactive.    Develop SMART Goals – You may be tired of hearing about SMART goals, so that I won’t go into in-depth detail here, but suffice it to say the best tool...

If you want to have a resilient business, you also need to be a resilient business owner who is not afraid to lead. If you look at the synonyms of resilient, you’ll see words like flexible, durable, robust, and strong – but what makes someone meet this ideal? Let’s explore the key characteristics of a resilient business owner.    Knows Their Own Principles, Morals, and Values  It may seem simple, but not everyone really knows themselves this well. Most of us grew up being told our principles, morals, and values instead of figuring it out for ourselves. This issue can...

It can be overwhelming to think about using expert software or outsourcing to experts because it can be expensive. If you’re not earning a profit yet and just starting, all the choices can seem overwhelming.    One way to build resilience into your business and prevent continuing with an employee mindset is to use your budget along with benchmarking to signal the beginning of the next step on your path for success.    Most online businesses need the following:  A Website  Autoresponder Software  Scheduling Software  Landing Page Software  Contractors and Freelancers Project Management Software Social Media Platforms Payment Processing Advertising...

You may have noticed during your disaster planning that some disasters, like data loss, can be prevented and avoided. The same can be said for most issues, especially those internal that you have 100 percent control over. The act of creating a continuity plan will make for a much more resilient business because it’ll actually help you avoid many bad situations.  Buy the Right Insurance – Depending on the type of business you have, you can actually insure for many unexpected and possible problems. For example, if you live in a flood zone, not buying flood insurance for your home...

Making schedules and sticking to them may seem tedious, but the truth is, a realistic schedule is the one thing that is going to ensure that you reach your business goals. But so many new small business owners who come from an employee mindset find it difficult to create and manage their schedules.  New business owners are so used to someone else telling them what to do that having complete control over the schedule tends to make new startups anti-scheduling, which is a big mistake.    To create workable schedules: Be Honest About Who You Are – Are you a...